The court is an essential element of the Oriental architecture of the
Mediterranean, which provided the theme of the Exposition plan. There,
however, it is the patio, the place of the siesta, the playground of the
children. Here the courts have been made the chief architectural feature
of the group. There the courts are private. Here they are merely hidden.

The central court at the Exposition, the largest and the most splendid,
is the Court of the Universe. (See p. 63.) It is the most important,
too, in the story which its sculptures tell, and in its relation to the
purpose of the Exposition. Whether it is also the most beautiful is a
matter about which opinions differ. Many persons admire Mullgardt's
romantic Court of Ages beyond anything else, while others are in love
with the calm Court of Seasons. Paradoxically, the Court of the Universe
suffers from its very magnificence. It is so vast that the beholder is
slow to feel an intimate relation with it. The same is true of some of
the noblest sights in nature. First seen, there is something
disappointing in the Grand Canyon. There is too much in the view to be
comprehended until after many days. In this court, the visitor is
pleased with its splendid proportions, its noble arches, its rich
sculpture, the wonderful blending of its colors with those of sea and
sky; but the pleasure at first is of the intellect rather than of the
emotions. Like other big and really fine things, it grows on one. The
sweep of its colonnades is majestic, the arches are noble monuments, the
Column of Progress is inspiring, the fountains show a graceful play of
water, the sculpture is big, strong, and significant; the flowers of the
sunken garden are a glory long to be remembered.

The Court of the Universe is Roman in architecture, treated in the style
of the Italian Renaissance. Its commanding features, the Triumphal
Arches and the magnificent flanking colonnades are most Roman in spirit,